Mobile field type packing plant



Sept. 3,- 1957 J. MARTIN 2,804,739

MOBILE FIELD TYPE PACKING PLANT Filed Sept. 13, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet l Q3 2? '0 m N I) s s N I Q s 3 8 Q m (L F) Q; Q: k 2

INVENTOR.

JAMES MART/N AT TORNEYS I Sept. 3, 1957 J. R. MARTIN MOBILE FIELD TYPEPACKING PLANT Filed Sept. 15. 1954 2 6R s m R n m a mm M M a 2. W m t Tw n" S A 4 l A Sept. 3, 1957 J. R. MARTIN 2,804,739

MOBIL-E FIELD TYPE PACKING PLANT Filed Sept. 13, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3f/GLS INVENTOR.

JAMES RMART IN A TTORNE rs p 1957 J. R. MARTIN i -2,804,739

MOBILE FIELD TYPE PACKING PLANT- U 0 Lu u. \u X INVENTOR.

JAMES RMARTYN ATTORNEYS United States Patent O MGBILE FIELD TYPE PACKINGPLANT James R. Martin, Salinas, Calif.

Application September 13, 1954, Serial No. 455,527

5 Claims. (Cl. 53-391) This invention relates to agricultural vehiclesand more especially to an apparatus and arrangement by which access to awide span of row crops in a field is facilitated by a plurality of mensuch as laborers, packers and the like. In particular, this invention isdirected to a field type packing plant. It was conceived for the purposeof alleviating unnecessary duplication of handling of crops and to speedup the packing of crops in a manner to obtain a steady flow of producefrom the field to the packers and thence to a vehicle for transfer tomarket.

Heretofore it has been the practice to cut head lettuce in the field andto load the cut heads, either manually or mechanically, into crib typeracks on a truck for transport to a packing shed. In the packing shedsmen and women are employed in trimming, wrapping and packing the headlettuce. By this method the heads of lettuce were packed in strata withcracked ice between each layer of produce and the filled crates loadedinto refrigerator cars for transport to market. Obviously this priorpractice entailed duplicity of handling of each head of lettuce, firstby the cutter, then the pick-up man who placed the lettuce into the cribor on a conveyor for elevation into the crib. Then at the packing shedthe lettuce must be handled by a trimmer, a wrapper, and ultimately thepacker and icer. It will therefore be appreciated that much of theoutside leaf is lost through bruising and trimming and that there is aconsiderable lapse of time between the hour of picking or cutting of thehead and the time when it is finally packed in the crate with ice.

Up until a year or so ago almost all lettuce was picked, handled andpacked in crates in the manner just explained. Up to that time it wasinconceivable that head lettuce could be packed and shipped incorrugated cardboard cartons because of the profuse presence of water onthe lettuce and the known deteriorating effects of'water on suchcartons. Since that time, however, it was conceived that by eliminatingthe cracked ice and by cooling the heads of lettuce very soon aftercutting, followed promptly by loading of same into refrigerator cars,cartons of a paper base are suitable and in fact preferable. Moreover,smaller packages can be shipped and retail merchants can take smallershipments at more frequent intervals to the end that they can obtainfresh lettuce daily rather than be caught with hold-over heads whichperish fast resulting in great loss. As a result of this innovation, afar greater percentage of lettuce is now being packed and shipped bythis new method rather than the crate and ice method previouslyexplained.

With the foregoing background, it is believed that the benefits andadvantages of the mobile, field type packing plant of the presentinvention will be better understood and appreciated. As a forerunner ofthe apparatus embodying the present invention, reference is made to mycopending U. S. application, Serial No. 385,436, filed October 12, 1953,now Patent No. 2,699,277, on a Lettuce Loader Rig. This earlier filedapplication serves, on a smaller scale, the purpose of facilitatingfield packing of lettuce in cardboard cartons and the direct transmittal2,804,739 Patented Sept. 3, 1957 of filled, packed cartons to heatextracting tunnels under the new method for prompt loading of the cooledproduce into refrigerator cars. The mobile field type packing plant ofthe present invention contemplates the provision of a wheeled vehiclefacilitating coverage of a wide span of plant beds giving ample elbowroom for workmen on the field as well as on the vehicle to assure amaximum of packaging in a minimum of time.

With the foregoing in mind it is an object of this invention to providea vehicle in which an elongated trailer is connected by a turntablearrangement to a tractor for movement in alignment therewith as well aslaterally with respect thereto. 'In this connection, the trailer isprovided with a pair of casters on each of its sides and adjacent itsrear end to facilitate movement of the trailer in alignment with thetractor during transport on a public highway and for movement as alateral extension from the tractor transversely of row cnops in thefield.

It is another object to provide a caster carriage shiftablelongitudinally of the trailer to register the caster wheels withtrenches or pathways dividing the beds in which the row crops are grown.

Another object is to provide a counterbalanced boomlike frame of saidtrailer to counteract the normal weight thereof at its rearmost end inthe region of the caster carriage. g It is another object of thisinvention to provide a conveyor system on the elongated trailer forreceiving and feeding cartons from and to a station on the tractor andabove the turntable connection thereof with the trailer.

A further object of this invention is to provide a mobile packing plantincorporating a central stitching and carton handling station on the bedof a truck or tractor so situated as to enable parallel travel thereofalongside a supply truck for receiving empty cartons therefrom and fordischarging' filled cartons thereto in combination with an elongatedcounter-balanced lateral boom disposed to travel transversely of andover row crops and to provide catwalks and loading equipment for men onboard as Well as trays on which lettuce can be deposited adjacent theloading equipment by men in the field.

Yet another object of this invention is the provision of a lateralconveyor on a mobile packing plant having inversely interchangeableloading equipment and trays so constituted as to facilitate packing oflettuce directly from the field irrespective of either left or righthand extension of the lateral conveyor relative to the tractor of themobile unit.

Still another object is to provide a lateral conveyor boom on a mobilepacking plant having a central conveyor system bordered fore and aft bycatwalks, the trailing one of which carries a plurality of packingstations and produce receiving trays. In connection with this feature itis an object to provide movable packing racks interchangeable to eithercatwalk of the lateral conveyor boom to facilitate packing of producefrom either side of such boom dependent upon its direction of movement.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparentfrom a reading of the following description in the light of the drawingsin which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a field showing the mobile packing plant of thepresent invention thereon and illustrating the maneuverability of thelatter thereover.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the mobile packing plant of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the mobile packing plant of Figs. 1and 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the packingplant shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section through Fig. 3 taken substantially alongline 55 thereof to illustrate the caster carriage.

sides of the trailer.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the caster carriage partlybroken away for purposes of illustration.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view similar to that of Fig. l but as seen fromthe trailing side relative to the direction of movement of the deviceover a field.

Referring to the drawings the mobile packing plant generally designated19 comprises a tractor 11 and a trailer 12 connected together by a fifthwheel or turntable arrangement 13 in a conventional manner. trailer 12consists of a frame 14 of a width within the maximum requirements fortraveling on public highways and is of such a length as to provide roomfor a plurality of loading stations 15, preferably seven or thereaboutfor reasons which will become more apparent later in this description. V

The frame 14 of the elongated trailer 12 comprisesa receiving and/ orloading station 16 in the form of a platform 17 just above the turntable13 and an under-slung boom-like conveyor section 18 united with theplatform 17 by downturned brackets 19 and supported at or adjacent itsrearmost end on a caster carriage 2i later 'to be more fully explained.

The platform 17 as best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 7 is a relativelybox-like frame 21 of rectangular plan, being longer in the direction ofalignment thereof with the trailer section 12 and having side rails 27to prevent men and material from falling therefrom. The platform 17 isat truckbed height from the ground to enable transfer of boxes orcartons to and from the bed of an auxiliary truck 23 traveling alongsidethe tractor 11 in the manner illustrated in Figs. 1 and 7. The base ofthe platform 17 has suitable side channels 24 joined by an end plate orweb 25 to which the downturned brackets 19 are secured as by welding orthe like. The lower ends of the brackets 19 support a shelf or step (notshown).

A structural member 26 (Figs. and 6) extends rearwardly from the step orshelf on brackets 19 to which it is secured, to form the spine of thetrailer. This structural member 26 is preferably four angle irons 27-27and 28-28 at the four corners of a box girder. The angle irons 27-27 arelowermost with their open sides out and up, while the other two angleirons 28-28 are uppermost with their open sides in and down. Theseseveral angle irons 27-27'-23-28 are suitably braced or joined alongtheir length by cross bracing (not shown) in a conventional manner toform a box girder of the structural member 26 or spine of the trailer12. At intervals along the length of this spine or girder 26 cross beams29 are secured thereto. At their outer ends the cross beams 29 haveangle irons 30 secured thereto open side in so as to cooperate with theangle irons 27-27 of the structural member 26 for supporting the ends ofboards 31 forming a catwalk 32 or 32 on the respective From the end ofeach cross beam 29 there extends upwardly a plurality of pipe standards33 to railing height relative to the catwalk 32-32 and these pipestandards are joined by pipe hand rails 34 running parallel to the sidesof the trailer 12. These pipe standards 33 on opposite sides of thetrailer are braced by being joined to the ends of cross T members 35directly above and parallel to the cross beam 29 below and terminatingat the upper angle irons 28-28 on the respective sides of the structuralmember 26 or spine of the trailer 12.

Between the hand rails 34 and the catwalk 32 or 32 is another orintermediate pipe rail 35 similarly secured to the standards 33. Asimilar pipe rail 37 is supported at the same elevation as theintermediate pipe rail 35 by the partial cross T members 35 hereinheforementioned on the inner side of the respective catwalk 32 or 32. Theseinner intermediate pipe rails 37 extend through the downwardly extendingweb of each cross T member 35 and are welded to the same.

Between the two inner intermediate pipe rails 37 a pair of angle irons38 are secured to the T head of the cross The T members 35 in spacedparallel relation to support a plurality of transverserolls 39 forsupporting the upper flight of a belt B of a conveyor 40. At the aft endof the trailer the conveyor belt B is on a roller of a suitable belttensioning device 41. At the fore end of the trailer, i. e., adjacentthe platform 27, the belt B runs around a drive roller connected to asuitable drive mechanism 42 for causing the upper reach of the belt B totravel from aft to fore end of the trailer.

At spaced intervals along the trailer, preferably at each cross beam 29and cross T 35 thereover, an inverted U- shaped structural member 43 isincorporated to bridge over the centrally located conveyor 40. Theseseveral U- shaped bridge members 43 support on their bight portions,which are uppermost, an overhead roller conveyor 0 consisting of twopair of spaced angle irons 44 and 45 extending lengthwise of the trailerand each such pair of angle irons support rollers therebetween uponwhich empty cartons EC are supported for movement downhill from theplatform 17.

At the locale of the caster carriage the frame of the trailer 12 has apair of wheel slots 46 formed therein by elimination of the catwalks32-32 on either side of the spine or structural member 26. In otherwords, the two outside angle irons gap at the slots 46 so that thetrailer frame narrows down to its spine width as defined by thestructural member 26 at the level thereof. The hand rails 34 andintermediate pipe rails 36 and 37, however, continue on through the gapsor slots 46 and support a U- bridge 47, the legs 43 of which extend downto the respective intermediate pipe rails and 37 and are welded theretoas well as to the hand rails 34. The bight portion 49 of this U bridge47 forms a support, at its position along the length of the trailer, forthe two pairs of angle irons 44 and of the overhead roller conveyor 0.

At the caster slots 46 are guide tracks 59-56 for the caster carriage20. These guide tracks 59-50 each comprise an angle iron 51 open sideout and up and each having their ends suitably secured as by welding toan angle iron 52. The angle irons 52 at each fore and aft end of slot 46have their ends welded to the angle irons 27-23% and 27-30',respectively, which support the catwalk boards 32 (see Fig. 6). Eachtrack -50 further includes a channel iron 53 having its web secured tothe horizontal flange of the angle iron 51 audits parallel flangesextending downwardly therefrom. Thus the tracks so formed receive 'aroller wheel 54 with its periphery guided in the channel 53 below thetrack.

The caster carriage 20 comprises a pair of wheel hearing castings 55-55one on each side of the spine 26 and joined together by suitabletrusswork and cross bracing 56 as best seen in Figs. 5 and 6. Each wheelbearing casting 55-55 includes a horizontal section 57 formed integrallywith a vertical section 58. The vertical section 58 of each wheelbearing casting 55-55 is disposed just outside the respective guidetrack 50-50 and within the wheel slot 46 provided.

In addition to the cross bracing 56 between the two wheel bearingcastings 55-55 the vertical sections 58 thereof are also tied togetherby cross bars 59. These cross bars 59 are so disposed as to providejournals for the roller wheels 54 hereinbefore mentioned. There beingtwo such roller wheels 54 on each of the wheel bearing castings 55-55 itwill be seen that the aft end of the trailer is supported on the fourroller wheels 54. In this manner the caster carriage 20 is free to movelengthwise the trailer 12.

In conjunction with the foregoing, the vertical section 58 of each wheelbearing casting 55-55 has secured thereto an angle clip 60 directlyabove each roller wheel 54 and in a horizontal plane to slide upon thelower flange of the angle iron 51 formed as a part of the guide track.Thus the aft end of the trailer 12 is maintained upon the roller wheels54 each of which is disposed to ride in its respective track channel 53so that no lateral shifting of the caster carriage 20' will occurrelative to the trailer. The outer end of the horizontal section 57 ofeach wheel bearing casting 55 or 55' is provided with a suitable bearing61 in which the shaft 62 of a caster wheel fork 63 extends. This shaft62 is suitably secured in place relative to the horizontal section 57 ofthe casting 55--55' so that the fork 63 can turn in the usual mannerwith its axle 64 in a trailing position dependent upon the direction ofrotation of the wheel W mounted on the axle 64. As seen in Fig. 5, thewheels W are running from right to left which is as seen from line 5-5in Fig. 3. The purpose of the foregoing arrangement is to cause the twocaster wheels W to travel tandem fashion down the same furrow, trench orpath T between the beds on which the plants are growing. It will thus benoted that the two caster wheels W travel parallel to the rows of cropsas well as the tractor 11 when at right angles to the latter.

Now assuming that all trenches T are properly spaced from one another,it would be a simple matter to fix the axis of the two trailer casterwheels W at a predetermined position laterally from the tractor.However, all rows are not necessarily uniform and in some fields thedistance between rows can vary thus requiring a change of position ofthe caster carriage 20 along the length of the trailer 12. In Fig. 7 itwill be seen that the caster wheels W travel in the ninth trench 9T fromthe central axis of the tractor 11 or center trench OT. Any deviation inbed width of an inch or fraction of an inch in one field relative toanother will necessitate adjustment of the caster carriage lengthwise ofthe trailer. To this end the caster carriage 20 is movable lengthwise byreason of the roller wheel and guide track support previously explained.In conjunction therewith I have provided means 65 for shifting thecaster carriage relative to the guide tracks 5050, i. e., lengthwise ofthe trailer,

The means 65 for shifting the caster carriage 20 may be manually ormechanically operated as desired. For purposes of simplicity I haveshown the means 65 as manually operable through the medium of a handcrank 66. As best seen in Fig. 7 the means 65 comprises a flexiblelinkage in the form of a chain 67 trained around two sprockets 68 and69, one fore and the other. aft of the wheel slots 46 in the frameworkof the trailer 12. The aft sprocket 69 is mounted on a shaft 70 suitablyjournaled in the frame 14 and the fore sprocket 68 is secured to acrankshaft 71 journaled in bearings 72 just ahead of the wheel slots 46in the frame. The crank 66 or other motivating means is connected to thecrankshaft 71 for turning the same in either direction to turn the foresprocket 68 therewith. Suitable braking means or pawl and ratchet means(not shown) is provided in connection with the crankshaft 71 for holdingthe latter in any position to which it is turned relative to the frame14 of the trailer 12. The chain 67 has one of its ends secured to therearmost crossbar 59 and its opposite end secured to the foremostcrossbar 59 or if desired the flexible linkage 67 may be an endlesschain suitably secured to one or both of the cross bars 59 or some partof the caster carriage 20 so as to shift the latter in a fore to aftdirection or vice versa relative to the frame 14 dependent upon thedirection of turning of the crankshaft 71. In this manner the axis ofthe caster carriage 20 which is transverse to the long axis of thetrailer is shifted to any desired position relative thereto forregistering the caster wheels W with the trench 9T in which they are torun.

When the trailer 12 is drawn axially behind the tractor 11 for transportalong a highway or road, the caster forks 63 assume a position to alignthe wheels W with those of the tractor. When the trailer 12 is to extendlaterally of the tractor 11 the caster forks assume a position asexemplified in Figs. 5 and 6 with the wheels W in a trailing positionrelative to the vertical shaft 62 of the caster fork 63. p In eitherevent the forks 63 ,onboth ends of 6 the caster carriage 20 are securedby use of a key pin 73 inserted through aligned holes (not shown) in thefork 63 and a part of the horizontal section 57 of the wheel bearingcasting 55 or 55 as the case may be.

When the caster wheel forks 63 are locked in a position to run tandemfashion in a trench spaced laterally from the tractor as illustrated inFigs. 2 and 7 it becomes necessary to secure the trailer 12 in rightangle position relative to the tractor 11. To this end a stay wire orcable 74 is employed as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. One such cable74 is provided on each side of the trailer 12 for use on the leadingside thereof as it is drawn at right angles to the tractor across thefield. One end of the cable 74 is anchored as at 75 to the trailer frame14 just ahead of the U bridge 47 and the opposite end of the cable 74 isprovided with an eye or loop adapted for connection to a book 76 on theend of the front bumper of the tractor 11. Thus in addition to thecoupling of the trailer to the tractor by the turntable arrangement 13the stay cable 74 serves to exert a pull on the trailer at a pointadjacent the caster carriage 20 so that the trailer 12 will move in aforward direction with the tractor although laterally extendingtherefrom.

In connection with the foregoing it will be noted that the trailersection 12 is counter-balanced in a manner to relieve the load of thelatter upon the caster carriage 20. This feature, as shown in Figs. 2and 3, comprises a counterweight 77 extending cantilever fashion fromthe overhead supports on the box-like frame 21 on the platform 17. Thecounterweight 77 extends from the frame 21 in a direction opposed to thedirection in which the trailer 12 extends from the platform 17. Thisserves to counterweigh the elongated trailer 12 relative to a fulcrumzone provided by the turntable arrangement 13 to relieve the normaltendency of the trailer to weigh downward. In addition to the foregoing,a pair of guy wires or cables 7878 each strung between one upper cornerof the frame 21 and the'upper end of the leg 48 of the U bridge 47 serveto exert an upward pull upon the latter. In this manner the major loadof the trailer 12 is transmitted to the bed of the tractor 12 and thuslighten the load upon the Wheels W of the caster carriage 20.

Referring now to the packing equipment provided on the mobile unit aboveexplained it will be understood that empty cartons in fiat or foldedcondition 79 are fed from the auxiliary truck 23 onto the platform 17(Fig. 7). These folded cartons 79 are opened up by one man and handed toa stitcher-man who staples the bottom of each newly opened cartontogether and places such cartons EC open side up upon the upper end ofthe overhead roller conveyor 0. Thus the empty cartons EC line up asshown in Figs. 2 and 7 in easy reach of the packers P standing on thecatwalk 32 or 32 of the trailer 12. As shown, the packers P are on thecatwalk 32' which is on the trailing side of the trailer adjacent thepick up men who walk along behind the lateral trailer. These pickup menstoop down to pick up the heads of lettuce which have been previouslycut and stacked by men ahead of the trailer. The cut heads of lettuceare placed upon traylike shelves 80 which are disposed at counter heightrelative to the packers P on the catwalk 32'.

The tray-like shelves 80 each comprise a perforated pan 81 (Figs. 4 and5) having one side Wall secured to hook straps 82 adjacent each endthereof and braced by a diagonal bar 83 welded at its one end to thestrap 82 and at itsopposite end to the underside of the pan 81. Eachhookstrap 82 has its hooked upper end 84 disposed to hang over the handrail 34 and its straight lower portion disposed to bear against theintermediate pipe rail 36. In this manner the shelves 80 are secured tothe sides of the trailer 12 and easily removed for hanging on one or theside thereof dependent upon the direction of movement of the traileracross the field. Moreover, when the trailer is disposed in alignmentwith the tractor for travel down a highway the shelves 80 are removedand placed in the catwalks during transport.

This same transposability of loading equipment is true of carton holdingeasels 85 constituting a part of each loading station 15 hereinbeforementioned. These carton holding easels 35 (Figs. 4 and 5) each comprisea framework made up of metal strap material. Two straps 8686 form thefoot portion of each easel 85. To these straps 8686, four corner postsare secured, two short posts 8788 to one strap 86 and two higher posts8788 to the other strap 86'. The upper ends of posts 87$7' are joined bya side angle iron 89 flange down while, the upper ends of posts 88-38are joined by a side angle iron 89' also flange down. The two higherposts 87S8' are joined by an aft angle iron iii? also flange down whilethe two shorter posts are joined by a fore angle iron 91 flange up andforemost. The up wardly extending flanges of fore and aft angle irons-9@91 are joined by straps 92-92 disposed in parallelism with theinwardly extending flanges of the side angle irons 8939' to provide,therewith, an inclined plane 93 upon which an empty carton can be placedand supported with its fore end engaged by the upturned flange of thefore angle iron Mr Supplemental to the upturned flange on the fore angleiron an additional strap band or abutment 94 is employed to engage andsupport the fore side of a carton on the inclined plane 93.

These carton holding easels 85 are adapted to be disposed with theirfoot straps 86-86 spanning between the inner and outer intermediatepipes 3637 on the two sides of the catwalk 32 or 32'. Thus the carton tobe packed is supported at suitable height above the catwalk tofacilitate placement of the heads of lettuce into the cartons by thepacker man P (see for instance Figs. 2 and 7). It will be noted (Fig. 4)thatthe ends of the foot straps 8686' are curved downwardly in asegmental arc to conform to the round of the pipe rails 36-37. Thus eacheasel 85 is held against lateral or canting shifting relative to theparallel pipe rails 3637. However, they may be slid lengthwise upon thepipe rails 3637, readily removed therefrom and/ or replaced upon thesame or those on the other side of the trailer 12 should such changeoverbe required. I

As will be apparent from the foregoing description the easels 85 andtrays 80 are always disposed on the trailing side of the trailer as itmoves along the rows of crops. In this manner the heads of lettuceplaced upon the trays 80 by the pick-up men in the field are at hand forthe packer men P on the catwalk which is on the trailing side of thetrailer. Thus the cartons taken down from the overhead conveyor 0 arequickly placed on the easels 85 by the packer men P and filled in aminimum of time. The filled cartons are then easily lifted from theeasels 85 and placed upon the conveyor 40 which is at substantially thesame level as the easel.

Although the actual packing of cartons at the several packing stations15 is carried on at the trailing side of the trailer only, the catwalkon the opposite (fore) side thereof is clear for use by the foreman ofthe crew or inspector. In other words, the inspector can easily walkalong such opposite catwalk supervising the workmen along the trailingside of the trailer. In this manner, the packing goes on without delayand any inferior heads of lettuce readily perceived and rejected.

The filled cartons with their open flaps out as seen in Fig. 5 travel onthe conveyor 40 toward the platform 17 and upwardly onto the same aswill be perceived in Fig. 4. On the platform 17 the filled cartons areconveyed through a foot press (not shown) and the upper flaps of thecarton folded down over the heads of lettuce. Then while the carton isfirmly held in closed position the upper flaps are secured together inany suitable manner, preferably by a pneumatic stapler (not shown).

The closed packages or cartons are next released from the foot pressesand passed on. to, the end. of the platform 17 whence they aretransferred manually to the bed of the auxiliary truck 23. Thus as theempty folded cartons are unloaded from the auxiliary truck 23 and passedover to the platform 17 for opening up and stitching the filled closedcartons take their place on the auxiliary truck upon conventionalpallets whereby future handling of stacks of filled cartons isfacilitated in the usual manner by means of fork lifts.

The mobile packing plant 10 moves down the field in the manner asillustrated in full lines (A) in Fig. 1. At the end of the rows, usuallyprovided with a roadway or unplanted area the cable 74 is disconnectedfrom the hook 76 on one end of the bumper of the tractor 11. Now thetractor is driven in the path indicated by arrows 'a-' (Fig. 1) to alignthe tractor with the trailer 12. Then the entire mobile unit 10 can bebacked up until the trailer 12,is disposed for travel along the nextseries of rows or beds of plants. In the illustration of Fig. 1 themobile unit 10 is shown as having been pulled forward in the directionof arrows 'b until the trailer 12 is disposed for travel along the nextseries of beds of plants to the left of those already covered. Thetractor 11 is then driven in a path substantially as indicated by arrows-cso that the long axis of the tractor 11 is again at right angles tothe trailer 12. The cable 74 on the opposite side of the trailer thenhas its looped end placed over the hook 76' on the opposite end of thebumper of the tractor, this time, however, in a direction opposite tothat previously assumed while the unit 10 was in position A.

Withthe mobile unit 10 thus reversed for travel back across the fieldwhat was previously the trailing side of the trailer (catwalk. 32') nowbecomes the leading side thereof. Consequently, the loading equipment,i. e., the trays 89 and easels 85, are transferred over to the otherside of the conveyor 44) and placed on the hand rails 34, 36 and 37boarding the catwalk 32 which is now disposed on the trailing. side ofthe trailer 12. The mobile unit 10 is then moved slowly along the fieldin the same manner as heretofore explained.

While I have described my new mobile packing plant in specific detail,it will be apparent that it is susceptible to modification, alterationand/or variation without departing from the spirit of the invention. lltherefore desire to avail myself of all modifications, alterations,and/or variations as fairly come within the purview of theappendedclaims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: p

l. A mobile packing plant adapted to travel through a field of row cropsplanted in beds comprising a tractor, a turntable arrangement on saidtractor, an elongated trailer having one end connected to said tractorby said turntable arrangement, a caster carriage adjacent the other endof said trailer provided with dirigible caster wheels adapted to aligntandum fashion for travel between rows of said crops, a counterweightedframework supported over said platform and extending cantilever fashiontherefrom in a direction opposite to said elongated trailer forcounterweighing the same and lightening the load thereof on said castercarriage, a stay cable connected between said' other end of said trailerand the fore end of said tractor for maintaining said trailer in lateralextending relation thereto during travel thereof along said rows ofplants, a carton erecting platform atone end of said trailer, anoverhead conveyor extending from said platform to said other end of saidtrailer for feeding empty stitched cartons deposited onto the same alongsaid trailer, a plurality of loading stations on the trailing side ofsaid trailer each comprising an easel for supporting a carton to bepacked and a shelf-like tray supported on the trailing side of saidtrailer for receiving and supporting cut plants manually picked up fromsaid beds of plants, and a full carton discharge conveyor on saidtrailer for receiving full cartons manually placed thereon from 9 eachof said loading stations for transmitting said full cartons to saidplatform.

2. In a vehicle including a tractor, an elongated trailer and a fifthwheel turntable arrangement for coupling them together, a mobile packingplant comprising a caster carriage adjacent the opposite end of saidtrailer, caster wheels on said caster carriage adapted to assume tandumarrangement when said trailer is laterally disposed relative to saidtractor, a stay cable between the opposite end of said trailer and thefront end of said tractor for maintaining said trailer in lateraldisposition relative to said tractor during movement thereof over bedsof plants in a field, and means for facilitating longitudinal shiftingof said caster carriage relative to said trailer to align said casterwheels for travel between rows of crops comprising parallel guide tracksinset inwardly from the side walls of said trailer, a pair of rollers ateach side of said caster carriage for supporting each of said guidetracks, means secured to said caster carriage in overlying relation toeach of said rollers for slidingly engaging the guide track adjacent thesame from above for maintaining said guide tracks upon said rollers,means for securing said caster carriage at a desired positionlongitudinally of said guide tracks, a platform at one end of saidtrailer at truck bed height above said turntable arrangement, anoverhead feed carriage on said elongated trailer for receiving emptycartons from the platform end thereof for transmittal along saidtrailer, a plurality of loading stations on the trailing side of saidtrailer each including an easel for supporting a carton during packingthereof, and a full carton discharge conveyor on said trailer forreceiving full cartons manually deposited thereon at said loadingstations and for discharging the same at said platform.

3. A mobile packing plant for use in fields planted in beds of row cropscomprising a tractor, an elongated trailer, a fifth wheel turntablearrangement for coupling one end of said trailer to said tractor, a staywire having one end connected to the front end of said tractor and itsopposite end connected to the opposite end of said trailer formaintaining said trailer at right angles to said tractor for spanning aplurality of beds of plants laterally thereof, said trailer including aplatform supported at truck bed height above said turntable, anunderslung spinal structural member extending from said platform,

and a caster carriage adjacent that end of said trailer.

opposite said platform comprising a pair of guide tracks secured to saidspinal structural member, one on each side thereof and parallel thereto,a pair of wheel bearing castings one adjacent each of said guide tracks,a pair of rollers on each said wheel bearing casting and engaged in theguide track adjacent thereto for supporting the same, a trussworkextending across said spinal structural member for uniting said pair ofwheel bearing castings together transversely of said trailer, motivatingmeans on said spinal structural member operatively connected to saidcaster carriage for shifting the same longitudinally of said trailer foraligning said caster carriage with a row between beds of plants, acarton stitcher on said platform, an overhead conveyor extending fromsaid platform to said other end of said trailer for feeding emptystitched cartons thereto, a plurality of loading stations on thetrailing side of said trailer each comprising an easel for supporting acarton to be packed and a shelflike tray supported on the trailing sideof said trailer for receiving and supporting cut plants picked up fromsaid beds of plants, and a full carton discharge conveyor on saidtrailer for receiving full cartons from each of said loading stationsfor transmitting said full cartons to said platform.

4. A mobile packing plant adapted to travel through a field of row cropsplanted in beds comprising a tractor, a turntable arrangement on saidtractor, an elongated trailer having one end connected to said tractorby said turntable arrangement, a caster carriage adjacent the other endof said trailer provided with dirigible caster wheels adapted to aligntandem fashion for travel between the beds of said row crops, acounterweighted framework supported over said platform and extendingcantilever fashion therefrom in a direction opposite to said elongatedtrailer for counterweighing the same, a stay cable connected betweensaid other end of said trailer and the fore end of said tractor formaintaining said trailer in lateral extending relation thereto duringtravel thereof along said rows of plants, a carton erecting platform atone end of said trailer, an overhead conveyor extending from saidplatform to said other end of said trailer for feeding empty stitchedcartons thereto, a catwalk on each side of said trailer either of whichbecomes the trailing catwalk dependent upon whether said trailer extendsto the right or left relative to said tractor, a plurality of loadingstations adapted for connection to the trailing side of said trailereach comprising an easel for supporting a carton to be packed and ashelf-like tray supported on the trailing side of said trailer forreceiving and supporting cut plants picked up from said beds of plants,and a full carton discharge conveyor between said catwalks on saidtrailer for receiving full cartons from each of said loading stationsfor transmitting said full cartons to said platform.

5. A mobile packing plant for use in fields planted in beds of row cropscomprising a tractor, an elongated trailer, a fifth wheel turntablearrangement for coupling one end of said trailer to said tractor, a staywire having one end connected to the front end of said tractor and itsopposite end connected to the opposite ends of said trailer formaintaining said trailer at right angles to said tractor for spanning aplurality of beds of plants laterally thereof, said trailer including aplatform supported at truckbed height above said turntable, anunderslung spinal structural member extending from said platform, and acaster carriage adjacent that end of said trailer opposite said platformcomprising a pair of guide tracks secured to said spinal structuralmember, and on each side thereof and parallel thereto, a pair of wheelbearing castings one adjacent each of said guide tracks, a pair ofrollers on each said wheel bearing casting and engaged in the guidetrack adjacent thereto for supporting the same, a trusswork extendingacross said spinal structural member for uniting said pair of wheelbearing castings together transversely of said trailer, motivating meanson said spinal structural member operatively connected to said castercarriage for shifting the same longitudinally of said trailer foraligning said caster carriage with a row between beds of plants, acatwalk on each side of said trailer pipe rails bordering each of saidcatwalks, a plurality of loading stations each comprising a cartonsupporting easel and a shelf-like tray each of which is adapted forinterchangeable connection with the pipe rails bordering one or theother of said catwalks whichever is at the trailing side of said trailerdependent upon right or left hand extension of said trailer from saidtractor whereby said trailer can remain in substantially the samedirectional disposition relative to said field although shifted relativeto the rows therein.

References (Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,473,587 Huston June 29, 1949 2,590,965 Huston Apr. 1, 1952 r 2,699,877Huston Jan. 18, 1955

